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SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian man
\n built up a 40,000-volt charge of static electricity in his clothes as
\n he walked, leaving a trail of scorched carpet and molten plastic and
\n forcing firefighters to evacuate a building.<\/p>\n
Frank Clewer, who was wearing a woolen shirt and a synthetic nylon jacket,
\n was oblivious to the growing electrical current that was building up as
\n his clothes rubbed together.<\/p>\n
When he walked into a building in the country town of Warrnambool in the
\n southern state of Victoria Thursday, the electrical charge ignited the
\n carpet.<\/p>\n
"It sounded almost like a firecracker," Clewer told Australian
\n radio Friday."Within about five minutes, the carpet started to erupt."<\/p>\n
Employees, unsure of the cause of the mysterious burning smell, telephoned
\n firefighters who evacuated the building.<\/p>\n
"There were several scorch marks in the carpet, and we could hear
\n a cracking noise — a bit like a whip — both inside and outside the building," said
\n fire official Henry Barton.<\/p>\n
Clewer, who after leaving the building discovered he had scorched a piece
\n of plastic on the floor of his car, returned to seek help from the firefighters.<\/p>\n
"We tested his clothes with a static electricity field meter and measured
\n a current of 40,000 volts, which is one step shy of spontaneous combustion,
\n where his clothes would have self-ignited," Barton said.<\/p>\n
I’ve been firefighting for over 35 years and I’ve never come across anything
\n like this," he said.<\/p>\n
from Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian man built up a 40,000-volt charge of static electricity in his clothes as he walked, leaving a trail of scorched carpet and molten plastic and forcing firefighters to evacuate a building. Frank Clewer, who was … Continue reading